Ugh. I took apart the climate control center to replace the burnt out bulbs, only to find that they were not t5 like I had read.

i put everything back together and was going to run an errand... but the car won’t crank.

everything comes on, system check, stereo, climate controls, all lights etc.

when I turn the key, I hear a sound from behind the glove box. Just one click.

i can shift into other gears. It will not start in neutral either.

i have moved through all the gears several times, pausing at each one.

I have let the battery discharge 15 minutes, but still no go.

i have read several posts, but none quite like this. I’m sure I hit something wrong removing or reinstalling the j plate, ski slope, radio etc... but what?

going to recheck fuses while my new hero reads this and posts the simple solution.

thanks so much

 

I checked all the blade fuses in the two boxes in the engine, they were fine.

when I turn the key, a small red light, slightly above and to the right of the large torx screw on the j plate, flashes red once.

I’ve got the radio and ski slope off again. I’m poking around, pressing all the connections, but no change.

Looking around the opening, I have found two small pieces of broken plastic. One seems to be from the cover around the two buttons. Idk where the other came from. Also a tiny screw rivet. It’s maybe half an inch long and maybe 1/8” diameter, if that. 1.5mm? It’s threaded but has a rivet type head. One of those, if not all, must be the cause of the rattle ive heard since I bought this cat. So maybe that has been solved at least. But I don’t see where the screw rivet came from. It was in front of the j gate, towards the rear of the car, all the way down. I fished it out with a magnet reach tool. Is this important?

 

Also, when I switch gears, there’s a little orange red light that follows the shifter... so it seems to be registering the gear, so not a neutral safety switch?

 

Yet another update

no error codes with obd2

new developments-

message area is saying trac not available, asc not available

head lights won’t come on now

turn signals don’t show on the dash now. Makes sound like they are out, fast tick

how do I test the battery. I know it’s supposed to be 12.6v... but how do I test it without it preferably not blowing up. I have a digital voltmeter... just haven’t used it except to check Continuity.

I have the battery on a topper, but I’ll plug it into a real charger. I was listening to the radio for several hours today while I was outside.

it still shifts into different gears, but it did stick a couple times. Had to turn key off then back on, and it shifted fine.

message area extremely dim

 

The starter relay command to close ground is provided by the BPM , may have knocked the connector loose

 

Joe, I am far from expert but do remember similar previous threads, no crank, then no lights, then other electrical problems, etc. (can't for the life of me find them now) but they were all related to the Body Processing module (BPM) which is located behind the glove box. The problem seemed to be a bad ground at the BPM

Can't think why or how this can be related to your removal of the center panel/J gate but maybe some electrical gremlin? (possible if you didn't disconnect the battery before removing the panel?)

Only thing I can think of with my very limited knowledge.

 

It’s getting dark and cold, so I’ll check the bpm thingie in the morning. It gives me something to look at.

i ummmm didn’t disconnect the battery when I did this. I followed a YouTube video step by step... he didn’t undo it, and even made a point saying that he didn’t. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

both of my 12v battery chargers seem to have bit the dust. Ones 40 years old, the others right around 20... but they had a murder suicide pact I guess. I have it on the topper charger. There’s no continuity between the leads... see, I can do this test lol.

im getting conflicting instructions on checking the battery. Do I simply disconnect the battery, turn my voltmeter to 20v, then touch the leads to the battery posts? Some say to ground it to the frame, others have me doing just plain odd things


thanks so much for the info

im done with trying to think this cat for awhile. Just need it to run!

 

To find out what voltage you have at the battery, you are correct, you just need to set your meter to 20V DC, and with the battery terminals still connected (and the car not running.....not possible in your case right now anyway) simply touch the two probes of the meter to the positive (red) and negative (black) terminals of the battery. You should get a reading of somewhere in the 12+volts range.

To clear up any confusion, with both battery terminals still connected, you can connect one of the meter probes to the positive (red) battery terminal, and the other probe to pretty much anywhere on the frame for ground, but it is the same thing as going across the battery.

If your battery is disconnected, you cannot use the frame as a ground, because the battery is now not connected to the frame and therefore out of the electrical circuit. With the battery disconnected you simply do as before and check the voltage directly across the two battery terminals.

Whichever way you perform the test you should read at least 12v DC on your meter. (If you do this test across the battery when the engine is running you will/should get a higher reading of 13-14v DC because the alternator is pumping charge into the system......but right now you don't have this option anyway).


..

 

ALWAYS a good idea to disconnect the negative (black) battery lead when working on anything that is-or-can-be remotely related to anything electrical on these vehicles.

Re the You Tube video, they are often extremely informative, but not always 100% accurate.

 

Been online since 4am, waiting for sun to come up and thaw the frost.

could someone please tell me where the bpm plugs into around the j gate? I have had no luck online. There’s lots of connections on all sides, some are pretty inaccessible unless I remove the j plate...

 

Tell us the battery voltage...

 

My battery tests at 12.78v, so I’m guessing it’s ok. It’s been on the topper charger for about 7 hours. Tested without the topper plugged in. It didn’t explode!






ive attached some photos, to show what I’m looking at, so hopefully someone can say unplug the yellow adapter, clean, plug it back in

i also attached a photo of the screw rivet. The flat rivet part looks like it has some black abs plastic glued on it... so guessing that it was some type of tab/fastener. I don’t see anything missing, so maybe from under the j gate? Not something I broke, methinks. Something had been rattling around since I bought it, and the noise seemed to come from this vicinity, though it moved constantly on the rough roads on Indiana’s pot hole capital. So it was hard to pinpoint.

 

I visually inspected each blade fuse in the 5 boxes that I know of. Are there any more boxes hidden? I even replaced the plastic push screws in the heel boards, so one more thing ticked off the list. None were bad

i don’t see a relay listed for the bpm. Is there one that I should check?

ive got the battery disconnected, will start to unplug, clean and replug the connections that I can reach. So many seem visible but not accessible though. Will also try to find some pics/video to remove glove box, and may be able to follow the wires from bpm that way. I lack most technical names and knowledge, so a picture is worth 28000 words to me. To me, everything is the white thingie next to the black box... so please bear with me and keep that in mind.

 

Hi Joe,

I was thinking about the BPM fuses in the rear heelboard fuseboxes, but it sounds like you've checked those. In case you don't have the Vehicle Care Handbook that shows the fusebox diagrams, you can download it at the link below, courtesy of Graham (GGG). The fusebox section begins on page 4-12:

Jaguar X308 Vehicle Care Handbook 1999

I have to run, but you can check for relays in the Electrical Guide, which you can download at the link below, courtesy of Gus:

Jaguar X308 Electrical Guide 2000

Cheers,

Don

 

Can anyone point me to instructions on how to remove glove box. I’m having no luck. I get other types, x350, x400 but no x308. When I do find a x308, on how to access bpm, it just states remove glove box...

last thing that that I want to do is break this too. I had to do a bunch of cleaning of 10 year old Coca Cola? And silicone lube to get the thing to open and close when I got it. Even changed the bulb to led, so I can actually see in there. I don’t want to screw it up lol

and FYI, don’t drink orange soda in the cat. There were 3 large spills. I was able to get out two with a rug doctor type machine, but third one won’t come out. At least it’s under the passenger seat. Orange pop stains this carpet bad. It seems that it has even been scotch guarded. I digress, but honestly, don’t let the grandkids have orange pop!

 

That’s some good info Don. Thank you

 

Well, not sure what exactly I did, but with the above tips, I got it running.

i prayed to the feline gods that be, pet a couple neighborhood cats, disconnected the harnesses around the j plate , cleaned and reattached them. Swore at the feline gods. Ran around and just swapped out all the relays that were easily accessible with its neighbor. They all seemed to be the same part number, so seemed safe. Hooked up the battery, and even though I “knew” it wouldn’t work, turned the key. Started right up and purred.

now to disconnect the battery and put the radio in and ski slope in. I’ve learned this lesson hard

this is the story of how I’ve fixed everything the last 40+ years. Something was right, but I don’t know what or why. I’m great with lawnmowers and snowthrowers too. Get em for free or a couple bucks, spend a day cussing at it, and it works. Shrug.

sometimes ignorance works I guess.

i would personally like to thank all of you and greatly appreciate your help. I’ve given you all thanks